1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a cyclone type dust collecting apparatus of a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a filter assembly disposed in a cyclone type dust collecting apparatus for filtering of contaminants, which are separated from whirling air by centrifugal force.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, a filter is disposed in a cyclone type dust collecting apparatus of a vacuum cleaner to filter out minute contaminants from an air stream, which is whirled around in a container of a cleaner body. With continued use, a layer of fine dust usually accumulates on the outer surface of the filter, and the filter has to be regularly cleaned, which is a quite cumbersome procedure. Recently, a filter cleaning device has been suggested to remove contaminants from the outer surface of the filter in association with the opening/closing of the dust receptacle of the cyclone type dust collecting apparatus.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a cyclone type dust collecting apparatus having a conventional filter cleaning device and FIG. 2 is a perspective detail view of the filter cleaning device of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the cyclone type dust collecting apparatus 100 includes a cyclone body 110 in which a suction port 111 and a discharge port 121 are formed, a dust receptacle 103 removably connected to the cyclone body 110, and a filter 130 disposed on the discharge port 121 of the cyclone body 110 and extending within the dust receptacle 103.
The cyclone body 110 includes a receptacle connecting part 125, which defines a dust separating chamber 115, and a connecting pipe 113 extended from the dust separating chamber 115 to an elbow shape. The dust separating chamber 115 is provided with the suction port 111 open outwardly in an oblique or tangential direction, and the discharge port 121 is open in an upwardly direction. The suction port 111 provides fluid communication between the interior of the connecting pipe 113 and the dust separating chamber 115. A suction pipe 107 is connected to the end of the connecting pipe 113 of the vacuum cleaner, and has a dust suction part (not shown) formed thereon. A flexible pipe 109 is connected to the discharge port 121, which pipe 109 is connected to the cleaner body (not shown) of the vacuum cleaner to provide fluid communication therebetween.
The receptacle connecting part 125 of the cyclone body 110 is open in a downwardly direction, and is shaped and configured to receive therein a cylindrical dust receptacle 103, which has an upper opening formed therein. There is a gasket 141 disposed between the receptacle connecting part 125 of the dust separating chamber 115 and the outer surface of the opening of the dust receptacle 103, for providing an airtight seal to the connection. Meanwhile, the dust receptacle 103 has a hook 104 protruding from the outer lower side and extending toward the connecting pipe 113 of the cyclone body 110. A hook recess 114, formed on the outer surface of the connecting pipe 113 in correspondence with the hook 104 is capable of engaging the hook 104, which is hooked or unhooked from the hook recess 114.
As described above, the filter 130, connected with the discharge port 121 of the dust separating chamber 115, is received within the dust receptacle 103 that is itself connected to the lower portion of the dust separating chamber 115. The filter 130 preferably is in the shape of a cylinder having an upper open end, and a plurality of air holes formed in the outer diameter circumference. A net body 135 is disposed on the outer diameter side of the air holes. The net body 135 includes a plurality of fine holes for filtering the fine contaminants from the air passing through the filter.
As shown in FIG. 2, the conventional filter cleaning device 150 mounted in the cyclone type dust collecting apparatus is provided with a dust removing ring 151 disposed around the outer diameter portion of the filter 130 (FIG. 1). A spring 155 (FIG. 1) resiliently biases the dust removing ring 151 downwardly, and a slider 161 and a locking lever 171 mutually engage each other for securing the dust removing ring 155 in the upper portion of the filter 130. A guiding groove portion 157 (FIG. 1) formed between the connecting pipe 113 of the cyclone body 110 and the dust receptacle 103, is provided for guiding upward and downward sliding of the slider 161.
The slider 161 is a bent member, which is extended downwardly from the outer surface of the dust removing ring 151 and is slidably received in the guiding groove portion 157 to slide thereon in the upward and downward directions. The slider 161 includes a connecting protrusion 162 formed to correspond with a protrusion hole (not shown) of the dust receptacle 103. With the cooperation of connecting protrusion 162 and the protrusion hole (not shown) of the dust receptacle 103, the dust receptacle 103 can slide upwardly and downwardly together with the slider 161. That is, in association with the sliding of the slider 161, the dust receptacle 103 is engaged or disengaged with respect to the cyclone body 110. The slider 161 is also provided with a pair of locking recesses 165, 166 formed along a longitudinal edge at predetermined intervals.
The locking lever 171 is provided with a locking portion 172 that moves with respect to the locking recesses 165, 166 of the slider 161, and an operating portion 174 for operation by the user. The locking lever 171 is rotated on a rotary axis pin 176 disposed in the guiding groove portion 157 (FIG. 1), engaging the locking portion 172 with respect to the locking recesses 165, 166 of the slider 161. To this end, there is provided a locker spring 181 disposed on the side removed from the locking portion 172 to resiliently bias the locking portion 172 towards the locking recesses 165, 166.
During use of the above construction of the conventional cyclone type dust collecting apparatus 100 having the filter cleaning device 150, the dust receptacle 103 can be separated by pressing the operating portion 174 of the locking lever 171. Accordingly, in response to the separation of the dust receptacle 103, the filter cleaning device 150 is operated. As the operator presses the operating portion 174 to rotate the operating portion 174 on the rotary axis pin 176, the locking portion 172 disengages from the locker recesses 165, 166 of the slider 161. The recovery force of the spring 155 biases the dust receptacle 103 downwardly and it is separated from the cyclone body 110, and at the same time, the dust removing ring 151 and the slider 161 slide in the downward direction.
The dust removing ring 151 wipes the dust layer from the outer diameter side of the filter 130 as it slides down and through the ring 151, and the dust falls into the dust receptacle 103 and is collected therein. When the dust receptacle 103 is full, the operator disengages the connecting protrusion 162 of the slider 161 from the protrusion hole of the dust receptacle 103, and throws out the dust and contaminants collected therein. After being emptied, the dust receptacle 103 is again connected to the receptacle connecting portion 125 (FIG. 1) of the cyclone body 110 by pressing upwardly, and following the reverse order to the procedure described above.
However, the conventional filter cleaning device 150 of the cyclone type dust collecting apparatus 100 described above has several drawbacks. That is, when large amounts of minute contaminants accumulate on the outer surface of the filter 130 , the dust removing ring 151 is inhibited from sliding smoothly and thus, it can not efficiently remove the minute contaminants from the filter 130. The operator also experiences inconvenience whenever the ring 151 becomes clogged by the dust and contaminants, forcing the operator himself/herself to remove the minute contaminants from the outer diameter surface of the filter 130 and so to enable the dust removing ring 151 to smoothly slide along the filter surface.
Further, the conventional filter cleaning device 150 of the cyclone type dust collecting apparatus 100 is a relatively complex structure, which requires many parts, such as, the slider 161, the locking lever 171 and the locker spring 181. This complexity results in manufacturing cost increases and in complicated assembling/disassembling procedures. Also, due to the structural requirements in the conventional filter cleaning device 150 of the cyclone type dust collecting apparatus 100 in which the guiding groove portion 157 for upward/downward sliding of the slider 161 is formed between the connecting pipe 113 of the cyclone body 110 and the dust receptacle 103, expensive molds providing such a complex structure are required and as a result, the manufacturing cost increases even more.